Returned to the cozy silence of the tavern, Eni's first order of business was to crack open the heavy leather-bound folio. Her fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through pages covered in Iva’s calligraphic handwriting. The book was a genuine guidebook to the hidden world of the Coalition: coordinates for bases, descriptions of training zones, and... strange scribbles in the margins.

  On one of the pages, her eyes caught a description of a site for "Exalted Trials." Beneath it was a text that reeked of off-the-charts pathos and arrogance:

  "O, hearken, thou insignificant speck in the vortex of the universe!

  If within the halls of thy meager intellect there flickers a daring craving to fall by my hand—perform a transcendent leap into this abode of majesty! I, steadfast as a pillar of eternity, shall remain here in monumental anticipation to crush thy essence with truly imperial scale."

  Eni slammed the page shut.

  "Yeah, right. Like I’m just going to go jumping into the clutches of some 'steadfast pillar' right now."

  Judging by the style, this was that Nimiro character—the narcissistic Archon the Voice had warned her about. Eni decided her meager intellect could do just fine without any imperial scale and flipped further. Her attention was drawn to a standard training ground for interns. Now, that looked more like the real deal.

  Activating the Obelisk, Eni was at the site in the blink of an eye. Her eyes literally darted around: it was a massive open-air testing ground, filled with racks of diverse weaponry. Shields of all shapes, swords ranging from short gladii to two-handed claymores, spears, bows... Everything a warrior could dream of was here.

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  Suddenly, a hand clapped onto her shoulder with casual familiarity. The voice was neutral, but it carried such a frantic charisma and raw energy that Eni involuntarily flinched and spun around, jumping back a step.

  Standing before her was a guy who looked about her age, around 185 centimeters tall. His appearance was, to put it mildly, specific: his hair was pitch black, and his eyes were different colors—the right one glowed with an unusual pink hue, much like Vee’s, while the left was a calm, mossy green. He was dressed as relaxed as possible, as if he’d just rolled off a couch: an open red hoodie with a zipper, a dark blue tank top, and loose dark-green lounge pants. Only his heavy black boots stood out from the domestic look.

  "Hey there, newbie," the guy smiled disarmingly.

  "Um... Hello?" Eni managed to squeeze out uncertainly.

  "O-o-oh, let’s stick to 'you,'" he winced playfully. "Anyway, what are you here for?"

  "Just because," Eni blurted out, not really knowing why.

  "Bleh," he rolled his eyes theatrically and acted like her boring answer made him want to gag. "Just because... Yeah, sure. Look, let’s spar? Just for kicks. Но first, dump those 15 points you took off that weirdo Quivertertar."

  Eni froze. How did he know? But she didn't argue. She closed her eyes and distributed the 15 skill points, feeling a new wave of power surge through her body. After that, she headed toward a massive stone ring, intending to grab a familiar shield, but the stranger wagged his index finger at her.

  "Ah-ah-ah, nope. That junk isn't for you," he nodded toward the racks of heavy gear. "Pick something else. A katana, for instance. A Hugurao... Huguro... Dammit... well, you get it."

  With a fluid motion, he snatched one of the katanas from a rack and tossed it to Eni. She caught the scabbard, feeling the weapon's unfamiliar lightness.

  "Don't worry, I won't kill ya," he added ironically, hopping onto the ring. "The rules are simple: your job is to defend. Because, let’s be honest, you’re not quite a match for me yet. Oh, by the way! All our weapons are enchanted. They help the body take the right stances and use techniques automatically, so you won't mess up. But I’m not gifting the sword to you—too expensive."

  The guy stood in the center of the ring, relaxed, without any weapon, yawning and sneezing loudly.

  "I'm ready," Eni drew the katana. The blade flashed in the sun, and she truly felt her hand intuitively take the perfect angle for defense.

  The training with the mysterious heterochromatic stranger begins.